The Incandescent Hellmouth
by BrightStar Kenobi
Summary: Sequel to A Sparkle on the Hellmouth but readers may wish to read ASOTH fi. How will the changes in the Wolf Pack and Scooby's. How will the effects of Halloween affect events panning of S3 and onwards. The darkness descends as times get tougher for the gang and Angeleus returns. I once again thank my Beta Starway Man. Faith Lehane/Andrew, Gunn/Fred and ASOTH pairings.
1. Chapter 1

**The Incandescent Hellmouth**

Author's Note: Welcome, everyone, to the sequel of 'A Sparkle On the Hellmouth'. I strongly suggest you read the first story before reading this one in order to get an idea of the characters' developments in the prequel, otherwise the fanfic will probably make little sense to you. And this story is going to be Faith-centric, just to warn you all up-front; Buffy will be taking a back seat until she gets her act together (if she does) from the events of the prequel fanfic. What do people think – should this be a Bad Buffy fic?

"Speech"

'Thought'

*Text*

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 **Chapter 1 – Pain and Suffering**

Los Angeles – Friday, 11 pm

Gasping, Faith the Vampire Slayer ran headlong into the downpour of rain during that warm September night. She careened around a corner, bouncing off of a dumpster and screaming in pain. Panting despite the broken ribs, and running on a broken leg, none of this was heeded by the girl as she ran. Her face and visible skin were a myriad collection of bruises and cuts.

'Oh Di, I couldn't save you…I'm sorry, I couldn't save you...' Faith's thoughts were a mad jumble as her mind whirled with images of her Watcher's brutal torture and death, flashing like a macabre late-night movie flick through her mind.

Rain slashing at her face, Faith held back the sobs that threatened to overwhelm her and she gripped the wooden stake so tight, her right hand almost started cramping. Struggling for breath, Faith's heart pounded in her chest as she fought to keep running, running away from the hell that was behind her. 'Why the heck didn't I finish off that undead asshole when I had the chance? Not to mention his minions? And why the hell didn't I head straight for Sunnydale like we originally planned, instead of hanging around here?'

Trembling limbs jerked as she bounced off a hulking figure around the corner, as Faith more or less crashed into him. The speed at which she was running meant she bounced off the guy, crashing heavily to the ground - crying out, as pain ripped through her tortured frame.

"No, no, you're not killing me, you bastard, noooooo!" Faith gasped out, trying and failing to get up.

The hulking figure stepped closer as she fought to scramble to her feet and bring her stake up, ready to fight; trying to force her exhausted body through another battle. But as the figure came into the light from a nearby streetlight, she saw it was a guy – and not a vampire.

Any other time, Faith's mind would have registered him as a something of a hot-looking stud. But here and now, all she noticed was that worry for her was written all over his face, as he took in her pain.

"Hey, take it easy. I'm not going to hurt you," the stranger said soothingly, hands out and palms forward in a placating gesture.

She was in too much of a flight or fight mindset to notice the guy's body jerk minutely, the moment their eyes met.

"No, you don't understand, I gotta keep running, they've killed…they, they…killed a friend of mine," Faith pleaded desperately, frantically hoping this guy would move - like now!

"My name's Andrew, and you're a Vampire Slayer – right?" the stranger asked, while staring at this battered and bruised creature of beauty in front of him. He reached down and then lifted her up to her feet.

"Huh? What the fu – how'd you know that? You know I'm the frickin'…" Faith stammered, rapidly trying to think how to get this guy away from the death that threatened them - only to hear a sound come from the darkness, which almost froze her very soul.

Ominous growling behind her made the distraught Slayer rapidly turn around. She looked at the figures approaching in the darkness, not knowing what to do or where to look anymore.

"Oh, shit, no," Faith whispered brokenly, as yellow eyes approached both her and the stranger.

The growling from the darkness grew, and for a split second, Faith couldn't help wondering why the hottie in front of her wasn't running away screaming.

The answer came in the form of a loud rumble from the male teen's chest, as he glared into the shadows. Shocked, Faith opened her mouth to ask who or what this guy was, and why her Slayer-sense was now pinging loudly; and yet she didn't, as an unfamiliar feeling washed over her – almost as if she was safe.

"I've got you; and my friends will be here soon. We'll live through this," Andrew said gently but firmly, a look on his face that no man or boy had ever given her before.

"I..." Faith stammered, unable to say anything else.

"Stay alive for me," the guy said warmly.

Nodding numbly, the battered and broken Faith could only look on in confusion as the hottie burst out of his clothes and morphed into a giant wolf – maybe horse-sized, but at least twice the size she was. The growling from within the darkness grew, as the wolf – werewolf? – howled into the night.

The brunette Slayer's jaw almost hit the ground, when five more horse-sized wolves careened into the alleyway. The Pack positioned themselves around her, and the one calling himself Andrew.

"You guys are officially awesome," Faith said dazedly, knowing she wasn't alone anymore, and getting the sense that she actually might live long enough to see the next day.

The growling in the darkness grew louder, as the dark forces of Kakistos charged. Gaining strength from knowing she wasn't alone against a horde of vampires anymore, the Bostonian Slayer snarled and charged into battle with the Pack; despite her broken leg and ribs. Howls and snarls erupted into the night air, along with grunts from the Chosen One as they ripped into the undead.

Faith snarled upon seeing a well-dressed black vampire, her injuries forgotten as a red haze clouded her vision. "You!" she screamed furiously.

Andrew growled, easily smelling Faith on this vampire, and so he charged headlong into the fray. His packmates fought vampires of their own, and slowly, the tide of battle began to turn in their favor.

'I'll kill you!' Andrew snarled silently, tearing into the minions around the vampire known as Mr Trick.

Faith howled in fury as Mr. Trick - seeing his guards fall, and possessed of a strong sense of self-preservation - saluted her mockingly. "Be seeing you, Slayer!" the vampire shouted, as he darted away from the alley with undead super-speed.

As the last of the minions burst into dust courtesy of the maddened Chosen One, the Pack was shocked and concerned when she immediately collapsed afterwards. Andrew unphased and sprang to her side, mindful of her injuries. The last thing Faith saw before the relief of unconsciousness engulfed her was her furry savior looking down at her in concern.

"She's breathing, but badly injured," Andrew Wells reported, as he checked her pulse.

Oz unphased as well, looking down at the broken girl. He asked gently, "Anyone with her?"

Andrew sighed, "Yeah, I think so. Uh, she said the vamps killed her, though, so..."

Oz nodded to the other Pack members, "Track her scent, and find her dead friend. Or Watcher. Or whoever it is."

"The Slayer said it was a friend," Andrew shrugged.

"Right," Oz nodded again. His unsaid 'be careful' was heard by all the Pack members, who were kinda dreading what they would find; after glancing at the unconscious Slayer.

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The Lair – Saturday, 12:00 am

Giles found talking to Jeannie Levinson rather enthralling, oddly enough. They were deep in discussion regarding the modern day dark arts, and both were glad the Pack's safehouse (known as the Lair, fittingly enough) was empty apart from them. After the last four months, things had _finally_ gone back to normal, following the chaos and death everyone had gone through the previous spring; thanks to Angelus and Spike and Drusilla. Their conversation was, however, interrupted by the front door of the Lair blasting open.

"Giles, Giles...please tell me he's here, Giles!" Andrew bellowed.

"We're in here, Andrew!" Mrs. Levinson called quickly.

Giles immediately stood at the urgency in the boy's voice, only for his stomach to churn as a distraught Andrew burst into the living room. Mrs Levinson gasped in horror, her hand on her chest as she too took in the chilling scene.

"Good Lord!" Giles exclaimed at the sight of the battered and bruised unconscious girl in Andrew's arms.

"She's a Slayer; we killed a shitload of vamps that were after her, but one managed to get away!" Charles Gunn snarled.

A pale Amy Madison stood behind Jonathan Levinson and Warren Mears, with a concerned Oz bringing up the rear. "They...they killed her friend, she looked old enough to be her...her Watcher," Amy said, memories of father's death causing her voice to tremble slightly.

Oz hugged Amy, rubbing his head against her as he softly soothed her. "We'll get who did it, Ames, like we did with your dad."

"I know," Amy whispered, leaning heavily against him; her eyes on Faith.

"The Slayer...her name's Faith, I believe… good heavens...Professor Dormer, her Watcher, she's dead?" Giles said, looking aghast.

The Pack instantly nodded, those who had actually seen the mutilated remains of Diana Dormer feeling ill. They also felt sympathy for Faith over the thought of what she must have gone through. Placing the Slayer gently on the couch, Andrew quickly darted off for the first aid kit.

Giles quickly set to work creating a cast for the broken leg, and trying his best to tape up the broken ribs. 'She really ought to be in the intensive care ward of a hospital, I suppose, but with her Slayer healing…no, probably not. The last thing we need is the police sticking their noses into this, after all!'

"That vamp who got away, he'll pay for this," Andrew abruptly snarled, his eyes glowing as his inner Quileute wolf rose to the surface.

Setting a hand on the vibrating Beta, Oz said soothingly, "Take it easy, Andy, we'll make whoever did this pay."

The other wolves nodded eagerly.

"Dearly," Giles affirmed, struggling to maintain focus on his task. 'We ought to get Xander and Cordelia in on this as well, I suppose. With their abilities, those Twilight-type vampires should be able to track down the vampire in question...'

No one moved as the first rays of dawn began to shine through the windows, and a broken Slayer was watched over by Andrew's unmoving form.

A/N: Okay, what do you think? I know Faith seems a bit OOC so far, but in the series she'd already dealt with these horrific events alone. In this story she will have help, and hopefully a family to help her stay on the straight and narrow. Buffy will appear too, but she will not be like she was in the series, given what happened in the previous story. It goes without saying that Xander and Cordelia will be different than what they were on the show as well...what do you think, should they elope to Las Vegas once they're old enough to get married? Should Giles and Jenny do the same thing, during the Band Candy incident? Should Angelus come back from Hell? Please review and tell me what you'd like to see happen!


	2. Chapter 2: Healing and Knowledge

Thank you to Starway Man for taking the time to Beta.

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 **Chapter 2 – Healing and Knowledge**

The Lair – Three days later

Groaning as she opened her eyes, Faith sat up quickly – noticing she was in unfamiliar surroundings. Her eyes rapidly started searching the room for some sort of weapon that she could use to defend herself.

'Where am I? Who bought me here?' Faith thought, her mind awhirl with various possible scenarios or threats to her person. Moments later, a loud knock was heard – and Faith darted behind the door, cursing her lack of available weapon.

An unfamiliar voice said from the other side, "Miss Lehane...ahhh, permit me to, um, introduce myself. My name is Rupert Giles, err - may I come in?"

Recognising the name from one of the talks she'd had with the Prof, Faith swallowed the lump that had appeared in her throat. "Yeah...okay," she said suspiciously.

Mr. Giles's voice replied, "Miss Lehane, if you would kindly put down whatever weapon you have in your hand, that would be most appreciated."

Faith looked at the lamp she was holding – crap, she didn't even remember grabbing hold of it! – and she eyed the door suspiciously, before reluctantly tossing the lamp away. Making sure the thump from landing on the floor could be heard outside the room, Faith called out, "Okay, you can come in now."

Giles entered slowly, not wanting to frighten or upset the girl. Noticing the Slayer's hand position, he silently suspected that she had a secondary weapon easily within reach. 'Well, not all that surprising, of course. What with everything she must have been through recently, anyway.'

"You can relax, Miss Lehane, we're all alone here," he said as soothingly as possible. "And as far as I know, there are no enemies nearby ready to pounce and a-attack you, as it were."

Unable to relax, Faith eyed the window, noticing it was daylight hours. "Where am I?" she demanded.

"Ahh…yes, the group which rescued you three nights ago, this is their home," he replied. "Well, sort of. It's a…a base of operations, so to speak."

Seeing the girl tense up, her eyes seeking an escape route and darting back to the window, Giles quickly reassured her, "It's alright, Miss Lehane, I already told you - we're all alone here. No one will hurt you."

"Yeah...and I can simply take your word for that, can I?" Faith bit out.

Giles kept his body language as relaxed and non-threatening as he could, before he moved away from the door, completely understanding her attitude. "The truth is, I-I rather hope you will. I take it Professor Dormer mentioned me to you before, at some point?" he asked gently.

Her eyes widened slightly, and Faith scowled before saying, "Yeah. Di...she mentioned you, and even your dad once. Said that they'd known one another."

"Yes, true enough," Giles nodded.

"Anyway, I was told you were the Watcher for some chick named Buffy something," she said, focusing on the memory of Di telling her about the other Chosen One on the California Hellmouth and not...those _other_ memories.

"Yes, that's right. I've been Buffy's Watcher for nearly two years now. And we've had quite a – well, how shall I put this, eventful year," Giles said, before immediately regretting his choice of his words.

The brunette Slayer's face closed down, pain evident in her eyes. "Yeah...eventful, huh?" she said spitefully.

"I do apologise...your..." Giles began to say.

"No!" the Slayer snapped. "Don't say it!"

Getting to her feet, Faith began to make for the door - and she growled when Giles carefully placed himself in front of it.

"Miss Lehane, please forgive me my choice of words just now. The truth is I, uh, I was almost tortured to death back in the spring by an _extremely_ sadistic vampire, and so my perspective is somewhat - biased. But believe me, I'm not unaware of what you've been through," Giles said, watching the girl's eyes – he saw the fire in them go out slowly, and let out of soft sigh of relief. "I saw your condition the night you were brought here. I also saw what had happened to Professor Dormer, once the body had been recovered."

"You...you know?" Faith whispered, tears welling in her eyes.

"Yes, quite. I know," Giles replied softly.

Faith instantly lost it, and started to sob brokenly on the bed. Giles sat next to her carefully, hoping she wouldn't push him away. He placed an arm around her, mindful of her broken arm. "It's alright, Miss Lehane. It's all right to grieve, no one will judge you for it," he said reassuringly.

The dam broke, and Faith couldn't stop her emotions from pouring out; oddly enough, part of her didn't want to. She choked out, "I tried to stop them but I couldn't get to her...they...they killed her, they...Trick, he..."

"Yes, quite. There is a plan in the works to track down those vampires, a-and destroy them," Giles nodded.

Grasping his shirt tight in one handed grip, Faith gasped, "No, you don't know him! He'll kill you all!"

Ignoring his now torn shirt and bruised chest, Giles replied, "Miss Lehane, uh, Faith...I can assure you we have people – assets, resources – on our side who can succeed in exterminating that group of the undead."

Shaking her head frantically, fear evident in her eyes, Faith pleaded, "You don't know what you're doing! Or who you're goin' up against. Kakistos...he'll…"

Giles momentarily froze, before his anger started growing by the second. Making sure to keep the anger from his voice he said gently, "Kakistos...as in the Worst of the Worst. The Father?"

Faith could only nod mutely, fear of that ancient vampire evident in her eyes. Her thoughts were clouded by the pain and suffering; hers and her Watcher's. But then Faith lifted her head and looked into the Brit's eyes, recalling what she'd been told about the Englishman. Heeding her deceased Watcher's advice about being this man being one the few she could trust, she said, "I...I was _there_ when he killed my Watcher, and I saw what he did to her...what he was gonna do to me. I tried to stop him, but I...I couldn't. So I ran," she choked out, wrapping her arms around her knees tightly.

Giles nodded, still having one arm around the girl's shoulders. "I understand. Now, I want you to listen to me, Faith. I gather Professor Dormer told you I could be trusted?"

The brunette Slayer nodded, so Giles continued firmly, "You say you ran after your Watcher was murdered. That was the right thing to do, if - as I strongly suspect - you were, uh, outnumbered and outgunned, a-and it would have been suicide to stand and fight. So you are not at fault with regard to your Watcher's death, and you need to believe that. You did what you could, and then lived to fight another day. The ones who did this will pay for their actions, and dearly."

"I should have died too," Faith whispered.

"Please, uh, please don't say that," Giles said uncomfortably, seeing the brunette's head droop downwards. "The typical lifespan of a Slayer is short enough, so, um, let's not tempt fate, shall we?"

'Well, obviously, I can't leave this girl alone in here,' Giles thought rapidly, getting more worried by the minute about the Bostonian Slayer. He reached into his pocket, pulled out his cell phone and sent a brief text message before saying, "Err, Faith - I'm going to arrange for someone to stay here with you, so that you're not alone at a time like this. I, ah, have somewhere else I need to be. Is that all right?" he said, praying she would not ask too many questions.

Faith wet her lips and replied cautiously, too numb to care much, "Yeah, 'kay."

"Any preference, male or female?"

Thinking quickly Faith replied, "Female, I guess." Faith's experience with guys was such that she didn't want to deal with some jerk that would start panting and lusting after her right now.

Giles tapped some numbers into his cell, and then listened for a few moments. "Willow...hello. Yes. Could you come over to the Lair? Yes, I'm still with her…very well, I'll see you shortly. Goodbye."

Slayer hearing could actually pick up the soft voice of the girl on the other end of the line. Faith started wondering if this was such a hot idea, as her general experience with females hadn't been that great either – well, apart from one or two. But then she forced herself _not_ to think of her Watcher, as that threatened to break the dam all over again.

Hey, hot chick with superpowers. She was _not_ some goddamn cry-baby!

Faith asked hesitantly, "So who's this Willow chick?"

Smiling, the Watcher stood up as a knock was heard on the door. "Willow is our…how shall I put this, err, computer expert. Feel free to ask her anything about the Pack."

'The Pack?' All of a sudden, Faith had a flashback to what had happened in that alley. The wolves – werewolves? – who had fought alongside her against the undead...

The door opened, and a redhead roughly her own age entered the room. Looking at the knee-length skirt and plaid jumper, the girl was obviously one of the smart but fashion-less crowd; or so it seemed to a high school dropout like her, anyway. 'Well, could have been worse. Don't think I could stand some stuck-up cheerleader type right now, anyway.'

Looking at Faith shyly, the red-haired girl said softly, "Hey, I'm Willow. You must be Faith, right?"

Faith nodded as Giles explained that they would alone for a short time, while he dealt with a few things. Once he'd left, Faith cast around for something to say. "So, you're part of the Slay team around here?" she asked.

"Yeah," Willow said, blushing.

"Right. So, what gives with the horse-sized wolves?" Faith asked, getting straight to the point.

Willow hesitated, but then decided to tell the story. "Well, it all began last Halloween..."

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Sunnydale High Library – 11 am

Andrew paced around the table once again.

"Come on, will you take a break or something? You're starting to make me dizzy," Buffy said, from her sitting position on the steps to the mezzanine level.

Andrew simply glared in her general direction, causing the blonde Slayer to fold her arms under her chest and glare back - just as Oz stepped into the library.

"Best leave it alone, Buff," Xander cut in quickly, sensing Cordelia ready to snap at the blonde Chosen One. "The guy wants to pace, it's better than him trashing the library or something."

"C'mon, Andy, take it easy," a concerned Veruca said, before she too sent a glare at the Slayer - who just pointedly ignored her. "You know that Slayers are tough, right? So what if it's been three days, already! Odds are, with that accelerated healing they possess, that Faith girl is more or less fine by now."

"She's right," Cordelia nodded, as Xander instinctively curled an arm around her. The blonde girl who looked like Rosalie Hale Cullen (thanks to last year's Halloween hijinks) then added, "Like that old TV commercial says, takes a lickin' but keeps on tickin'!"

"Thanks a lot for _that_ comparison," Buffy muttered under her breath.

"I know it's hard, man," Warren said to Andrew, completely ignoring the Summers girl. "But it's gonna be okay. You just gotta keep it together and believe that."

Knowing how volatile a newly imprinted Twilight-type werewolf could be, Oz glanced at his Beta and walked over to him. Andy shook his head and began to pace again, only to glance at the opening double doors.

Giles stepped through, his eyes immediately zeroing in on the jittery Beta of the pack. "She's alright, Andrew. I left Faith with Willow; she-she's more or less fine."

Shoulders slumping with relief, Wells sat down in a chair as Giles turned to the group and said, "Nonetheless, we, um, we have a problem. A problem named, ah, Kakistos."

Xander's jaw dropped and, thankful for all the summer reading he'd done (hey, he couldn't sleep anymore, he had to pass the time somehow whenever he and Cordelia weren't having sex!), he said, "Whoa. Seriously? Giles, you mean..."

All heads turned to Xander, looking at him curiously as the male teen shook his head. "Vampire who's like five thousand years old, more or less. Doesn't look human anymore. Someone who could even give the Master a run for his money?"

Amy Madison let out a bowel-loosening growl "He's even worse than that son of a whore who killed my dad?!"

Buffy suddenly found the floor very interesting, and refused to look in Amy's direction. Nobody noticed as Giles said, "I'm afraid so, Xander. And yes, Amy, according to rumor...Angelus wouldn't stand a chance against him. It appears that Kakistos and his minions are the cause of Miss Lehane's appearance, a-and the loss of her Watcher," Giles confirmed.

Andrew narrowed his eyes and growled aggressively, "We need to take him out, like right now!"

Oz growled at his Beta warningly, causing Andrew to forcefully shut himself up. Giles just sighed and removed his glasses, cleaning them with a cloth before replacing them on the bridge of his nose. "It's not going to be quite that simple, I suspect."

"You've obviously had a long night, Giles, so why don't I take this one?" Xander asked.

Giles nodded gratefully, before walking to the book cage and pulling out a very ancient tome. Carrying it to the largest research table, he started paging through it as the gang gathered around. 'Here we go…'

Xander then said, "This guy is really old, like I said." The male sparkle-pire paused to let this sink in. "And to have survived as long as he has, Kakistos is smart as well. Guy's mobile – Louisiana, Boston, and even Los Angeles, lately. Collects fanatical followers. Has done since the days of ancient Greece..."

Andrew's anxiety started soaring as Xander began to fill them all in, starting with the frightening vampire's rise to power and his journeys throughout the world. Giles finally found the page he was looking and gave the book to Xander – before he gently pulled Amy away from the table, and sat her down next to him.

"You don't need to see that, not at this point in time," he told her gently.

The Madison girl nodded, deep down she really didn't want to see the type of images she suspected were in the book; it had been bad enough seeing the corpse of Faith's Watcher, or at least what was left of it.

"This guy likes to play..." Xander paused, glancing at Amy worriedly.

"Keep going, don't stop on my account," the she-wolf said softly.

"Well, okay. Here's some of what this guy has done in the past," Xander said, showing the group pictures of horrifying gruesomeness. "Makes what we've seen here in Sunnydale almost seem like a picnic, by comparison. Hate to admit it, but all things considered? We were _lucky_ to have Angelus running around in Sunnydale last year, instead of this guy!"

Buffy's eyes glistened with unshed tears. Giles glanced at his Slayer and inwardly sighed, even after all these months - the poor girl still hadn't gotten over the past. Despite having witnessed the demon's activities during Angelus's reign of terror, nothing had changed concerning her love for Angel.

'It's not healthy for her, dammit all,' Giles thought to himself worriedly. 'It's unfortunate how I can't even fake any sympathy for her loss, what with the way that _thing_ nearly killed me that night; but still. I've got to do _something_ to make Buffy snap out of it! Otherwise she might lose it completely and run away from Sunnydale, like she nearly did back in May...'

"So what we saw the other night, that was one of the worst things this guy can do?" Gunn asked, remembering the devastation they had come across.

"Hard to say. But whether it was or not, Kakistos is so old his hand and feet are cloven. His name means, literally, 'the worst of the worst'," Xander shrugged.

"So, dangerous then?" Oz said, half-tempted to go find Willow right now; but needing to keep an eye on his Beta, in case Andrew lost it completely.

"You betcha," Xander nodded.

"Well, not to _us_ ," Cordelia gestured to herself and her boyfriend. "Hello, sparkle-pire? Skin like marble? But to everyone else, this guy is definitely bad news!"

"So you'll track him down and simply rip his head off, right?" Andrew said eagerly. "I mean, he killed Faith's Watcher – odds are he'll come after her too!"

"We'll do our best, dude. But hey, Cordy and I can't be everywhere at the same time," Xander shrugged. "That's why we came up with that treaty last year, remember? Strength in numbers, and all that."

Nodding, Giles said to the Chosen One, "Buffy, given the danger, I want you to patrol with another member of the group at all times. Well, until Faith is healed up properly; which may be another two or three days, at a guess."

The Slayer lifted her head to snark at her Watcher, "Oh joy, happy days."

Oz growled, but was easily outdone by a vibrating snarling Andrew. Cordelia noticed and said darkly, "Not the time, _Slayer_."

Amy hugged Andrew, causing the male wolf to look at her in surprise as she whispered in his ear, "Relax, and think of Faith. I know the imprint is overwhelming you right now, but you gotta keep a clear head to be of any use to her!"

The Beta of the Pack knew she was right, and so relaxed marginally as he thought of a healing Faith; feeling happy that her injuries had begun to fade. He never even noticed as Cordelia stood and barked at Buffy, "You'll patrol with me or Xander – got it? Because we're the only ones who can restrain ourselves from wanting to rip your head off, nowadays."

"Cor, please... _so_ not helping, babe! And Buffy, come on – you know we need to work together on this," Xander said pleadingly, sensing Mount Saint Buffy about to erupt. "You may not like it, but ya know it's true. Kakistos and his minions come across you all alone, odds are you're done for!"

The blonde in question looked at Giles, ignoring the ex-cheerleader and her boyfriend completely. A fire appearing in her eyes, Buffy told him, "Okay Giles, have it your way. If I need help, though, I'll beep you."

"Grandpa might not get the message, especially if he's on a date with Ms. Calendar," Jonathan muttered, as Warren and Veruca sniggered.

Buffy glared at the Levinson boy, noticing how Giles rolled his eyes at the 'Grandpa' remark. 'Asshole! Disrespecting my Watcher that way - it wasn't that long ago you were at the bottom of the school's social pyramid, Jonathan, now you're making smartass comments like that?'

Oz said warningly, "Knock it off, Jono. Giles deserves better than that!"

Muttering a quick "Sorry," Levinson got a comic out and he started to compare notes with Warren for next year's Comic-Con. Veruca rolled her eyes when her boyfriend suggested that she dress up as Princess Leia for the event, but everyone else just ignored the juvenile antics.

"Right then, Buffy – you, uh, please make sure you have your cell phone on you at all times," Giles told her, hating the current rift that he suspected might never be repairable.

Buffy nodded, and without looking at the other occupants, strode from the room without another word.

Warren snarked, "Sure, that went well."

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Sunnydale Happy Burger Drive-Through – Monday, 10 pm

A limousine pulled up to the delivery window, and Charlie Soper's eyes widened as he looked upon the expensive vehicle. Then his expression fell, as the male teen realized he himself would never be rich enough to afford something like that. Life sucked that way.

"Welcome to Happy Burger, here's your order," he said in a monotone.

"Thanks. Dinner to go, just great!" the black man inside the car said enthusiastically.

Before Charlie could wonder how it was the dude had yellow eyes, or why he had sharp-looking canine teeth like something out of the Discovery Channel, he was dragged into the limo. His terrified screams could be heard within the fast food establishment – but unfortunately the only other occupant was a spotty-faced teen ignorantly bopping to the sounds of his Walkman, as he cleaned the tables for the breakfast shift tomorrow.

A/N: So, how was it? Review. Please!


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